My L.A. trip by the numbers

Road trips for Hemmings are always an adventure. Whether it’s scouting for locations in pitch darkness, cars breaking mid-shoot, or any of a hundred other variables that can crop up, you’ve got to be flexible. Your author just returned from a seven-day jaunt to his old stomping grounds of the greater Los Angeles area, and crunched some numbers on his return.

Days on the road: 7 Cars photographed: 17 Cars that were planned to be shot but didn’t for various reasons: 3 Cars that were replaced with something else last-minute: 1 Cars driven that have already been shot but need a driving impression for publication: 2 Collections photographed: 2 Auctions: one, but for two different magazines Photos taken (after getting rid of the junk): 4,219 Photos that will actually get used in print: (estimated) 250-275 Wake-up time for a morning shoot: 5:30 a.m. Time to be on-site for that shoot: 6:15 a.m. Free meals from friends and acquaintances: 5 Days of ill health while working through late nights and early mornings: 2.5 Miles driven: about 1,800 (including the 800 round-trip to get to L.A. from Phoenix) Publishers complaining I spent too much of the company’s money on the trip: 1 (pending)